Anthony Albanese full of praise after visiting Milton Rural Landcare Nursery

Mr Albanese toured the nursery on Thursday, July 25, at the completion of a $225,000 forest recovery project jointly funded by the state and federal governments through the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.

And he described the post-bushfire forest recovery project as "just a cracker of a project".

The project has provided on ground support to 15 property owners in the Milton Ulladulla area to control weeds and regenerate bushland with plants grown from locally-specific seeds.

"This is a great example of the resilience of humanity, and the resilience of this local community," Mr Albanese said.

"People who have been knocked down, got themselves up, and not just got themselves up but got their properties up as well."

Mr Albanese said it was "quite inspiring to hear stories of the land coming back stronger than it was before, with more species than were here before".

Native animals were returning to areas that had been devastated during the bushfires, he said, "because of looking after the land, and it's a great example of how the community has bonded together in the wake of such tragedy".

The project has a dual role of reducing fuel loads created by weeds, which could become a bushfire hazard, and rehabilitating damaged landscapes by replanting local native plants.

Mr Albanese said the work was vital in the wake of scientists and climatologists predicting Australia was in for a dry and hot summer after its extended wet spell, creating the potential for a bad bushfire season.

"It's a reminder that we need to do what we can to prepare for the upcoming season," he said.

"So now's the time to clean out your gutters, to keep lawns short, to prune shrubs and cut back trees that hang over buildings, to clean up fallen leaves, dead vegetation, ensure all entry points to your property are wide and high enough to fit a fire truck.

"They're the sort of preparations that we want to see occur today," Mr Albanese said.

"I wanted to come here in July, well in advance, to make sure that I did my bit to promote a safer community."

Federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips, joined Mr Albanese on the tour and said the project was born out of the Black Summer ashes.

"I was on the ground every day during, and in the many months after the bushfires," she said.

"I met with many local people who were not only devastated by the loss of their homes, but equally by the loss of the bushland they loved so much.

"That was where the seeds of this project were sown, in those conversations surrounded by charred and blackened bushland - now finally regenerating into colour and life once more," Mrs Philips continued.

The National Landcare Network welcomed Mr Albanese's visit to the Milton Rural Landcare Nursery, and said a commitment from government was needed ahead of El Nino's expected arrival to ensure landcarers across the country were well equipped to respond to future bushfire and extreme climate events.

"We're thrilled that the Prime Minister has been given the opportunity to see firsthand the fantastic outcomes community landcare can achieve with the right support," said National Landcare Network CEO Jim Adams.

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"Milton Rural Landcare's post-bushfire forest recovery project has been a critical part of replanting and weed control after the Black Summer bushfires, and has helped to build community capacity to prepare for and respond to future fire events," he said.

The forest recovery project "demonstrates the importance of community landcare in Australia's response to the climate emergency and the extinction crisis," Mr Adams said.

"It is essential that government not only recognises the impact of community-based, grassroots efforts such as this, but takes action to ensure their success can continue."

Mr Adams said funding uncertainty was "putting future projects like this at risk".

"After seeing the fantastic community and environmental outcomes achieved by Milton Rural Landcare today, we are confident that the Prime Minister appreciates the impact that proper investment has on the vital work being done by over 6,000 individual landcare groups and over 160,000 landcarers we represent," he said.